Staff Engineer Systems Architect – Flight Control Actuation Systems (Vehicle Management Systems – Flight Control Actuation Systems)

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Staff Engineer Systems Architect – Flight Control Actuation Systems to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Vehicle Engineering Flight Systems organization. This position is located in Melbourne, Florida.

Vehicle Management Systems (VMS) Engineer requires coursework and/or experience in aircraft vehicle management systems.

In this role, you will be responsible for design and development of Flight Control Actuation System architectures and defining key capabilities and performance requirements. Defining design and technology maturity constraints of the system in accordance with customer specifications. Developing thorough definition of system external interfaces. Defining system implementation approach and operational concept. Ensuring requirements are met and evaluating performance with customer. Additional responsibilities include managing requirements, design, testing, and presenting updates to internal and external customers.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Development of flight critical system design for aircraft control
• Development of architecture design with optimized redundancy levels and fault management
• Communicating with multiple subsystems to define physical interfaces to the Vehicle Management Computer
• Documenting Vehicle Management System physical architecture including all data bus and discrete interconnections
• Definition of interface and processing latency requirements based on subsystem functional requirements
• Specification of test requirements for VMS system level performance
• Specification and oversight of Vehicle Management System software
• Development of product specifications to support acquisition and procurement of subsystems from vendors
• Development of subsystem simulations as needed to support Vehicle Management System verification
• Developing test cases and executing test procedures in lab and on-aircraft environments
• Presenting technical updates to internal and external customers
• Demonstrating a commitment to ethics and integrity, and the capability to innovate while challenging traditional ways of doing business

Additional duties include:

• Performing technical planning, system integration, verification and validation, cost and risk, and supportability and effectiveness analyses for total systems
• Performing analysis at all levels of total system product to include: concept, design, fabrication, test, installation, operation, maintenance and disposal
• Ensuring the logical and systematic conversion of customer or product requirements into total systems solutions that acknowledge technical, schedule, and cost constraints
• Performing functional analysis, timeline analysis, detailed trade studies, requirements allocation and interface definition studies to translate customer requirements into hardware and software specifications

We seek candidates with strong written and verbal communication skills, the ability to work as part of a team, and the ability to organize work, manage time, plan, and prioritize.

Basic Qualifications

The basic qualifications for a Staff Engineer Systems Architect are:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field from an accredited university with 14 years of system architecture definition experience and/or integration test engineering experience OR a Master’s Degree in STEM with 12 years of system architecture definition experience and/or integration test engineering experience OR a PhD Degree in STEM with 9 years of system architecture definition experience and/or integration test engineering experience.
• Must have a technical background in electronics hardware and software certification.
• Must have a technical background in hydraulic actuation system design and certification.
• Must have experience with supplier proposal review, selection, coordination, and management.
• Must have a technical background in the fundamental of actuation loop closure and hardware/software implementation.
• Must have a technical background in actuation modeling using MATLAB/Simulink.
• Must be able to manage the integration of the actuation system into the overall vehicle systems.
• Must be willing and able to mentor engineers.
• Must have an active DoD Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance prior to start of employment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with advanced systems and development, integration, and test of aircraft subsystems
• Experience using the CAMEO design suite
• Hands-on experience writing engineering modeling and simulation code
• Prior airworthiness experience
• Integrated Hardware/Software (Subsystem/System Feature) validation experience

Salary Range: $134,700 USD - $202,100 USD

Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

The health and safety of our employees and their families is a top priority. The company encourages employees to remain up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccinations. U.S. Northrop Grumman employees may be required, in the future, to be vaccinated or have an approved disability/medical or religious accommodation, pursuant to future court decisions and/or government action on the currently stayed federal contractor vaccine mandate under Executive Order 14042 https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/contractors/.

Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO/AA and Pay Transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for most positions.